Hans Liang, Peter Chan lead in Monterey Park council race

MONTEREY PARK - In the race for two open City Council seats, Hans Liang and Peter Chan were leading Larry Sullivan, Joe Ray Avila and Tom Guzman in early results Tuesday.

The two seats previously were held by David Lau and Betty Tom Chu. Lau retired, while Chu resigned last year, saying she could no longer work with the council.

Liang, a deputy probation officer for Los Angeles County and also a city planning commissioner, said he was happy to see his early lead, especially after coming up just short in the 2011 election.

"I'm just very grateful that the residents have put their faith in me," Liang said. "But that feeling should really never overshadow the responsibility we are going to have after we get elected. There is a lot of work to do."

In the city's most contested race, city treasurer Joseph Leon, the incumbent, led challenger Stephen Lam in early results, though he initially trailed in vote-by-mail ballots.

Leon said he was confident the votes would continue in his favor.

"Just the name recognition alone I knew (Lam) couldn't win, I've been here for a long time," he said. "Because of my longtime residency and involvement, before I even became city treasurer people knew me."

In the race for city clerk, local attorney and bike enthusiast Vincent Chang had a significant lead over chess instructor Jeff Schwartz and theater house manager Neal Alvarez.